Account of the Afterlife
by RexRock
Summary: [REVISED AND REPUBLISHED] Taken place between the events of Forces of Life and Jak 3, this is a first-person perspective following Erol as he discovers the truth about what happened to his body after the fatal zoomer crash. (Please R&R!)


-AUTHOR'S NOTES-

I've been wanting to write this for a fair while. :)  
For those who managed to read my Jak fiction _Forces of Life_, you may noticed that I ended up slipping up somewhere on the line, due to Erol's role in the story. He was shown as one of three spirits (alongside with Vin and Praxis), forced to side with Jak, therefore almost cursing his travels as he fought hard against the remaining set of Metal Heads roaming around Haven City soon after Metal Kor's defeat.  
But it wasn't until about a month after I finished the fic, that I found out that Erol did NOT die when running into the Eco barrels. Instead, he returned as a deformed figure of sorts - a bit hard to describe. So the best I could do was try to link the events of Forces and Jak 3 together.  
Thus, this creates this little story effort, where we follow a first-person perspective of Erol as he discovers the truth about what happened to his body.  
A bit rough-edged, but I am still satisfied with this, especially with the character interactions and the emotions boiling within Erol's character. I hope you like what I managed to put down.

Peace out,  
-Rexy-

* * *

My life had been anything but simple; from my childhood, leading through to my early days in the Krimzon Guard, and ultimately one of the most powerful racers of Haven City, I could tell that my name meant that I was filled with ambition.

Even through the supporting chants of the crowd every day, I could tell that I had the whole world to back me when I needed it. A role model to the city, a face to look up to... but how could that be? I was still young, and still in need of something to keep me truly satisfied.

By the time that Jak freak managed to make his way into the city, I could have seen that something big and nasty was about to unfold. Even when trying to make him one of the weapons to destroy the Metal Heads through Dark Eco treatments, there just didn't seem to be anything right about him.

-A FAN FICTON PRODUCTION-

We both had our fair share of grudges, through street patrols, random meetings, and even on the racetrack itself. We both had something in common - we can ride fast, we both wanted the heart of that mechanic girl Keira, and we were both the talk of the city.

But, you may have seen that all good things had to come to an end. I tried to defend my Class 1 racing title against that Eco freak not too long ago, and the result had to be an event that turned the tables of events around me.

-A story by Rexy-

He managed to get past the finishing line towards me, that arrogant monster. Did that mean I was down to nothing? No - I could have just taken the title away from him, if only if he touched the nose of my zoomer when I tried to knock him into the Eco barrel prize nearby.

After that, I couldn't remember what happened to my body. All that I could see myself is as a spiritual essence. I had nowhere to go - even after Metal Kor was defeated, we still had Metal Head ambushes across the city.

I wasn't the only one panicking though - following the same situations as me were two other city citizens that I knew almost too well - Vin, and Baron Praxis. The three of us together had one thing in common - Eco and Metal Heads had something to do with our own individual demises.

-ACCOUNT OF THE AFTERLIFE-

That was until... that Eco freak found us. He seemed to be trapped within the caverns that he was once brought under, leaving a truce to follow - if he took care of the remaining Metal Heads with us by his side, we would be able to escape from the city, up towards Nirvana.

And to our requests, he managed to rid the world of the remaining Metal Heads within a 200-kilometre radius of the city, as we would have known it. That gave the three of us enough freedom to escape from the goddamn world... only to find, that Nirvana could just be another state of the mind.

* * *

The last time I saw Jak was last week, when the final confrontation with the remaining Metal Heads drew upon us. Memories of him continued to burn in my mind, even though that I knew that I was free to do what I have always dreamed of.

And yet, Nirvana seemed to be nothing more than a trail across the skies of my home world, watching over the people beneath me. Not exactly the kind of rest that I was hoping for, but I was glad to see that I wasn't alone in this journey.

And right from out of the blue... a strange crown-like towering structure started to show upon the horizon. My eyes widened upon the sight of it as I tried to come closer. Walls surrounded it, and some smaller buildings were enclosed within it. That structure... it seemed to be so familiar!

"Would you look at that", muttered Praxis from behind me.

I couldn't contain my excitement. "Oh my God, we're back at Haven City!"

Like a bullet from a gun, I started hovering faster towards the building, wanting to take a closer look upon the burning truth on the city's existence. And yet, with the more peaceful atmosphere around it, I felt relieved to see that it's all in one piece.

" I can't believe how long it's been since we left this place behind! And look!" I started laughing peacefully. "It's still standing strong!"

"Erol, it's only been a week since we left it behind", replied the Baron as he shook his head. "That's nothing much to get excited about!"

I just couldn't contain myself. I was just happy to see that we ended up hovering back the way we started. A determined grin started to show upon my face, willing to see closer into the inner structures of the city as they are.

While I did that I looked back at my comrades. Baron Praxis, although still as rash as ever, might as well be thinking the same thing about me. I can see it through his half-metal face, and that determined brown-red eye hidden within that mess.

And as for Vin, he just seemed to be just as afraid of the scenario as when I first met him running his duties in the city's Power Station. His white hair was sticking up with fear, and I can see through those blue-tinted glasses that he wanted to go back the way he came.

"Just out of question", he asked, "what's the point of being back here when we could just be elsewhere right about now?"

"Oh come on Vin! Aren't you afraid?" I playfully scowled back at him. "The Metal Heads have been wiped out by now, and we just have all the right time to look down there and see how everyone else is doing!"

I gave off a curious smile, before I suddenly started to hover my way closer towards the others. Their indifferent expressions were shown upon me - probably for the state of the city, but... it wasn't until I fully came up to them when they were shown to be more serious.

I came to a stop, and instantly saw a strange tint of red around me. That just left me to shake it off - I thought it was just the aftermath of a new Eco well being discovered or something. But no, their faces still looked concerned.

"What?" I asked, confused. "Why are you looking at me like that?"

"Erol!"

All of a sudden, the Baron managed to come towards me, bringing his eye up and down against my spiritual body. And yet, so did I - it was there that I was giving off some strange red-orange aura, for reasons that I didn't understand.

"You're... glowing!" he whispered.

"So?" I said with a shrug. "It's probably just one of those phases. Don't all spirits glow?"

"The Baron has a valid point", panicked Vin. "I don't think this kind of essence feels natural!"

I brought my attention straight to Vin, whom somehow started to seem more curious over the situation. I then thought that I had my chance - due to his knowledge for running the Power Station, I was sure that he might have had a few answers hidden within there.

"Well, if you think you know everything you can", I said with a growl, "cough up!"

With a sudden bolt of anger, I suddenly lunged closer towards Vin, with my arms being brought around his neck. That left me to start strangling him as hard as I could, even though I knew that it won't do any good ever since he was dead anyway.

A good minute later, I ended up releasing my grip on him, leaving him to start panting for breath. Fear suddenly started to strike upon his face for some odd reason. That left me to blink over at him before I hovered closer, my hands still shaking.

He then brought his attention back towards me, showing his usual cowering motions. It made me wonder, that guy was meant to know everything that was possible about my actions, but... I would have thought it was harder than once imagined.

"But", he whimpered back, "I can't do so unless I can see what happened to your body!"

My body...! I then hovered firmly, trying to think back to when I last saw my body. Several memories started to creep upon my mind, trying to figure out the precise moment about it. But... no, I couldn't pinpoint an exact moment over its sighting at all.

But out of every single one of those memories, one of which that managed to creep over my mind though was that for the last few moments as a living being. And yet, I managed to remember everything as if it all happened yesterday.

* * *

_"This city is mine! These lives are mine! This war is mine! And in war, PEOPLE DIE! Kill him!"_

Those were the words that the Baron spoke to Jak as soon as he unveiled himself as the racing champion. Upon seeing him reach the finish before me, I felt so bitter that my heart could explode into pieces without anyone looking at me. I just wanted my title back - racing was my pride, my passion, my LIFE!

With anger burning within me, I took a hold of my racing zoomer, and got myself back inside. The ignition was slowly turned on, and I waited behind the corner, waiting for the right moment to step onto the pedal.

The sound of gun clicking was heard. It seems as though they were set to kill the Eco freak. Why leave them to do it when I can just kill him myself? It was there that I pressed down hard on the pedal, therefore being ready to speed down the corner towards my target.

"Look out!" cried a voice.

I looked ahead, and saw Praxis and two other Krimzon Guards standing upon a hovering platform. On the part of the track beneath them were Jak and his orange pet, looking shocked over the whole ordeal. And behind them was a giant stack of Eco barrels.

My mission became clear - to shunt the nose of my vehicle straight into Jak's stomach, to try and send him flying, to try and vanquish him from the surface of the planet. My looks had determination totally surrounding them.

"I win, Jak!"

* * *

And yet... the ambitions never came to reality. The next moment I remembered was that Eco freak jumping up at the last minute, leaving me to crash into the barrels. Right there, my memories could have faded into nothing too easily.

But how can someone die, just by being shunted into a set of eco barrels? I'm sure that that method of death felt so tepid in comparison to what I have usually seen around my comrades. That left me to look onwards, seeing into the city ahead of me.

And with the red essence around my body getting stronger, I would have felt a warning sign creep upon my head. It may seem as though, that had something in common with the reconstructions of the city... but how?

"Oh great", I started to panic myself. "What if the crash wasn't fully the end of me after all?"

I just couldn't hold it any longer. Without any more thinking, I started hovering closer and closer towards the horizon, at a gradual pace. At first I only just moved at the speed of a turtle, then at the same as a walking cat, and gradually reaching the speed of a running bloodhound.

The red glow around my body started to take a fuller control around me, leaving me with a more concerned expression than before. The skies above me suddenly started to feel colder, with the clouds beneath us getting thicker and thicker.

"Erol, wait!"

Before I could go any further, I felt the grasp of a set of arms around my legs. I looked behind me, and saw the Baron trying to stop me with his own two hands. I'm sure that he didn't understand my incoming emotions at that moment in time.

"You can't wonder around the city on your own!" he shouted with a rash tone. "Remember what happened when we first met Jak like this?"

"If curiosity would kill the cat", I replied back, "then it's better to be the dogs that we are and look closer into this matter."

"Are you sure you're doing the right thing? Because the last thing we want to do is to cause the beginning of something big upon the city."

He pulled me back and brought me over to Vin, whom was just hovering there with one of the shakiest expressions I've ever seen upon him. I would have thought that with the way I've been coping for the past couple of weeks, some things might never change.

"Trust me", Praxis said calmly. "We should leave this matter alone for the time being."

I looked on at his face - for some odd reason it seemed to be more confident than the usual. It seemed as though he knew what could be going on in the city. But... am I sure to follow him? He can't just rely on his daughter Ashelin's roles alone.

I thought hard about it all - I so wanted to go back inside the city, wanting to see what was there. And yet, there were my comrades wanting to hold me back due to my spiritual ways. I can understand them, yet... they just knew I had to make my mind up.

"I'm sorry, but this had to be done."

With anger upon me, I brought my hand away from the Baron's, and started hovering my way among the white clouds beneath us, picking up a strong trail of candyfloss-like dust from the ground as I zoomed away.

"EROL!!!"

Vin's shouts were heard to reach my ears, going straight across this section of the void around us. But even with his frustrated tone going through my ears, I still decided to keep going, further and further away from the others.

It wasn't long until I finally managed to hover away from the clouds, and found myself above one of the walls for the city. It was there that I started to hover down as briefly as I could. As I did so, I ended up hearing the trails of my other comrades.

"Oh great", panicked Vin's voice. "Now what in heck should we do?"

"There's only one thing we can do, and that's to follow him."

I looked behind me, and saw both Vin and Praxis hovering towards the ground, and coming closer to me as time went on. While the Baron ended up speeding of Vin, holding onto his hand as he managed to do so, I continued to advance solo.

The structures of the city walls started to show themselves in their clearer light. Stone-like structures were shown right in front of us, completely overshadowing the outside wastelands from the citizens beneath us.

"This is just insane; I can just feel it...!"

Vin's cowering voice from behind me left me want to clutch my fists even harder and try to strangle him as he was. But yet, I had to totally ignore him as I managed to come closer and closer towards the grounds beneath us.

And then, I ended up zooming past the city walls, and found myself hovering an inch above the dusty ground. I looked ahead of me - peasants walking around, shanty houses everywhere, and leaking pipes from corner to corner. I was back in the filthy Slums.

And so that left me to start going across the city structures. During that time, I heard the hovering essences of my comrades coming closer towards me, skimming across my ground and soon catching up with my brisk hovering speed.

* * *

Several turned corners later we ended up making our way into the Industrial Segment. There weren't many people I knew who lived there, or many noticeable landmarks to take in - that's unless you count the sewers and the Power Station.

Upon passing the sewers, I ended up seeing into a couple of what looked like blue armored Krimzon Guard. I just thought that didn't seem right. That left me to come closer towards them, hearing into their every word.

"You heard about what Governor Ashelin is doing to this part of the city?" one of the guards asked the other.

"Yeah, she heard about some kind of rebel movement in there or something. Seems as though she's set to take it down!"

The first guard then lowered his head. "I doubt she has the bitter tones of her deceased father to do such a thing, though."

My eyes were widened at the sounds of their voices. That left me to turn back towards Praxis, whom could only just shake his head at the sight of their running commentary. Either way, we had to move on and make our way deeper into the city.

A few minutes passed until we reached the Power Station. Once there, the door instantly opened up, and out came a young man with white hair and a long purple jacket. He soon managed to catch up towards a couple of broader practical citizens in front of him.

"We're running low on Eco again!" he said with a light and youthful tone.

"Jona?"

"We can't keep the shield wall up for any longer!" he squealed as he took a hold of one of the citizens by the hand. "I have no idea how long the shield can last on the limited supplies we have left! Can you give me a hand on where to find more Eco?"

He instantly took a hold on their hands, and pulled them inside the power station. I can admit, Jona definitely seemed like the son of the father, and it was even more evident on Vin's curious expression. But even here, I had doubts that Jona would live up to his family name.

We continued further on, and it wasn't long until we reached a strange structure along the far Eastern areas of the Port. There, I saw into a couple more of them blue Krimzon Guard creatures, leaving me to eavesdrop onto them again.

"City racing has really died out since Erol's disappearance", sighed one of the guards.

"Yeah, whatever happened to his body?" asked the second. "I never saw it since. Maybe it got fried in the Dark Eco?"

"Either that or something really fishy is happening to it. Yet I don't want to find out what."

It was proven - the city really fell hard without me around, although if it may only be in the world of entertainment if anything. But they still feel curious over what happened to my body, and I was more than ever.

And yet, when I turned behind me, I saw a strange white glow occur from behind a nearby water tower-like structure. I started hovering towards it, with my comrades just coming behind me - maybe there was where my answer would be revealed, I thought.

* * *

Several minutes passed, and our voyage within the metallic structure suddenly got deeper, and darker. Our vision was almost completely sealed by nothing but the color black, leaving a more eerie mood set around us all.

By then, we were all holding onto each other's hands as we went further and further into the darkened corridors. Even though we were all secured safely, we all had to go through the corridors one step at a time.

But what was that I saw? At the end of the tunnel I noticed a strange eerie red-white light coming out from a nearby door. I blinked at the sight of it, before I started to hover my way further away from the others.

"It's getting creepy in here!" squealed Vin. "I want to go back!!!"

"Vin, calm down!" replied the Baron as he took a firmer grip upon Vin's hand. "If we turn back now, we'll never find out the cause of Erol's mysterious ways!"

Their voices caught my attention, leaving me to look back at them, raising one eyebrow back at them. That left Vin to start scratching his head back, with the Baron releasing his grip upon that friary cat of a travelling partner.

"_What?_" he asked me with a higher pitched expression.

I gave out an honest blink, before shifting my eyes to the left, and then to the right. Silence was around. I then gave out a sigh and came closer towards the door, with the light glowing stronger than before. There, I went straight through the metal panels, and went into the room.

"Is this it?"

I looked around, and saw myself in some sort of strange laboratory. There were several glowing red tubes around the building, and desks littered with carpenters' tools. Torches contained in strong cylinder-shaped glasses were shown in every corner.

But what really managed to catch my attention was a strange shape at the left of the room. I came closer towards it, and it was there that I soon managed to notice the solid truth. The shape looked so similar to me it was unimaginable.

"This can't be true!" I gasped. "I've... been rebuilt?"

I brought my eyes closer towards the structure inside the tube. And indeed, there my body was - bruised, mangled and scarred. What was even worse was that a part of my face was reformed through some kind of strange metal-stone substance.

I almost felt like breaking down at that point. I could have easily cursed straight away had it not been for the fear that crept inside me, therefore shutting my voice away from speaking. I did manage to hover back, breathing deeper and deeper.

"Holy shoot, I look even weirder than that Eco Freak!" I growled to myself.

"That Eco Freak had a name!"

The voice soon managed to catch my ears. I turned to the left, and right there, both Vin and Praxis managed to make their way in to see my anger. They then came closer towards me, focusing their attention back and forth between me, and my body.

Meanwhile, my attention was brought to the right of the lab - a wide open door, showing several familiar figures walking up and down the labs. Their red armor, although some of them looked bruised, made them almost recognizable.

"And aren't those part of the old Krimzon Guard?" I pondered to myself.

I looked on with a blank expression upon me. Then, I gave out a deep sigh before hovering my way back towards the others, my head hung low with rage. I really needed to express every single last drop of fury, somewhere, somehow.

"Just what are they trying to do to me?" I shouted bitterly. "I deserved to die bravely, not attempt to return as some hideous monster!"

"That's what I felt when I tried to defend the city before my time as ruler", sympathised Praxis. "I'm sure you can get through this, Erol."

Right in front of my eyes, the Baron placed one of his hands upon my shoulders. Even through that action, I tried to imagine how different the touch would have been if a hand was placed upon my rebuilt body's shoulders.

I just couldn't help but keep on looking at that hideous structure. It wasn't long before I just came back to it, almost breaking down with tears. I placed my hands gently upon the glass, showing my growling teeth through the reflection.

"I can understand what you get at, but..." I sighed back. "If I have the energy, I could just lift something off the ground and use it to smash the remains of this godforsaken body! I don't deserve this!!!"

Without second thought, I instantly roared with anger, before I made my way over to one of the desks. I needed something to break that glass and instantly pummel the body down to size - I just couldn't take it!

With there, I tried my best to pick up some of the items, but my spiritual body had problems just trying to lift them through a brisk pace. Eventually, that left me to try to calm down, before I brought my hands over a small hammer nearby.

I then lifted my hand up as steady as I can, trying my best to keep the object hovering. I was glad to see that I managed to lift the tool off the ground. I then looked back at the body, with every single ounce of determination to shatter the tube and-

"Alert! Alert! Shield wall down! Intruders coming into Industrial Section! Alert! Alert!"

The female computer voice command instantly came to my ears. That caused me to drop the hammer onto the floor, and look straight up; a set of windows leading outside were there. Through there, some strange black monsters started to hover above the skies, and into our seeing ranges.

And all of a sudden, the sound of a roar was heard from above, before it poked its head straight onto the glass panel, shocking us all. Its monstrous attitudes, shining iron plates and dog-like features left me to panic at the sight of it.

"Metal Heads?!?" Vin panicked in an instant.

"But... where did they come from?" asked the Baron. "And... what happened to the state of the shield wall?"

I looked on at both Praxis and Vin, both of which looking shaky over the whole ordeal. It also felt curious to me too, but... that was until I thought back over seeing Jona panic over the state of the shield wall.

"Oh no!" Vin squealed again. "Jona!!!"

All of a sudden, Vin started to scream with fright, before he started hovering towards the front door. He then looked straight through it, but... he soon brought himself back, his face turning whiter than it once was.

"Oh great, please don't lock me in right now!"

He then started to cower in a corner, just like the baby he was. But no sooner than that happened, a sharp bang came to my ears. That left me to look to the other side of the lab, where the Krimzon Guard were seen fighting against other Metal Heads near them.

While that happened, the fight caused some of the scaffolding to shake, instantly causing some of the structures to fall, blocking the guards from ever coming inside the laboratory. As soon as that happened, the Baron managed to come to me, showing an expression filled with shock.

"Erol, we need your help!" he commanded. "We have to find a way out of here!"

"So what?" I said with a carefree expression. "We can just go through walls! That's our tendency, right?"

I just folded my arms as if we were almost bound to surround this massacre. I looked around the scenery, and there were walls and structures, waiting for us to pass through at the right time. While that happened, I brought myself onto both feet and started going towards the main door.

"You know that Metal Heads can sense us too, right?" said Praxis as he recounted back to when we fought on Jak's side recently. "They can sense almost any entity with those minds of theirs!"

I shook my head - now something was telling me that the Baron was starting to get more afraid of this scenario than ever. I just kept that irrational thought at the back of my mind as I made my way towards the door.

"Nice creature", Vin squealed quietly. "Nice creature!!!"

Vin continued to cower as I brought my attention towards the glass panel. And there they were - Metal Heads were swarming by their numbers, trying to snap away at us. My eyes instantly widened at the sight of them.

I then dashed quickly towards the other side, going through the metallic ruins. Once there, more of them buggered monsters came towards me. With hesitation, I went back through the structures, looking on at the others with a frown.

"That's it. We're trapped", I sighed. "There's no way we can get out of this joint for sure!"

"And it's proven, the city's under siege by the Metal Heads again", cried Vin from his corner. "How are we going to escape this?"

Vin's expression continued to show more fear than ever; over time, he managed to stand up on both feet, taking a hold onto my chest for protection. I instantly growled over at him, before pushing him straight down onto the floor.

I then brought myself back to the desks near the other side of the lab, sitting down upon one of them. I just felt shocked by seeing that Metal Heads were roaming free again, but one question seemed to roam through my mind - where in Hell do they keep coming from?

"I'm sure there's a chance of breaking free from this particular area, believe me on this", smiled Praxis.

I brought my attention towards the Baron, whom brought his eye around every corner of the room. Eventually, it remained fixed upon the capsule holding my body. By then, I felt nervous over what he would do.

"Erol, I think I can see our only means of escape."

"What?" I shouted when looking back at that hideous body. "No, I'm not going in that thing!"

"Listen, Erol!" he retaliated back. "If you can help us out, it's the first thing you can do to bettering the city!"

He pointed straight towards the body, leaving me to look on at it for myself. I know that I hated to roam around the city with that horrible looking body, but... then again, it wouldn't do me good sitting in a room, surrounded by Metal Heads.

"I know it won't look good on yourself" sighed Praxis, "but if you enter that body, then that'll help with the refurnishing of the city."

I then started to focus in silence. The pros and cons started to weigh up on me, and I knew that if I couldn't decide quickly enough, then we might not have any chance of survival. In time, I stood up, and looked on at the capsule with a determined look.

"If that's what you're asking for, then... I guess I have no choice but to try and go into that thing."

And so, I started hovering straight towards it, with the red glow upon my body slowly turning into a more dangerous gold shade. I then pushed my hands onto the glass, bringing my eyes upon the vicious expression lying on the other side.

"YEEEARGH!!!" I squealed at my highest pitch.

And all of a sudden, my spiritual essence started to glow into a white color, flashing every two seconds. I could barely see what was going on around me, but what I did manage to notice was that my body suddenly started to feel warmer than the usual.

Over time, all that I could see was nothing but white around me. Strong red auras fell into my viewpoint, and a sudden jolt of strong electric energy was brought upon my body. I had no understanding about what was going on.

"Erol, be careful!!!" shouted Vin from near me.

I tried to open my eyes, and it was there that my focus started to go randomly around various areas of the room - to Praxis and Vin in the far corner, to the Metal Heads at the window panel above us, and to the ruined part of the labs at the other side.

But they soon managed to fade out, leaving me to start feeling numb around my body. All that I could feel was all my senses starting to vanish. And from there, memories started to flash upon my own existing mind.

My days as a child, leading into my first weeks into the Krimzon Guard, going through all the way through to my racing career... they all started to flash straight towards me, like a blur that shot through me.

"EROLLLLL!!!" Vin cried out to me once more.

The voice soon caused the visions to cease, leaving me to quickly open my eyes. I then seemed to be inside the capsule. There, I looked down, and saw myself. It was there that I finally saw myself as a living being once more.

With rage, I broke the glass with my bare hands, sending myself out into the open. I then picked up the hammer, and aimed it straight towards the window above us. My burning rage seemed to be angrier than before.

"That's it, you stubborn creatures!" I growled back with a more whispered tone.

I then hurled the hammer straight up towards the window, smashing the panel as soon as it hit it. That left a rain shower of glass to hit the floor, as well as a couple of Metal Heads that seemed to be only just bigger than your average ottsel.

"How do you like THEM apples?"

I then picked up the hammer again, and kept a hold of it as I pounced upon the monster. They tried to bite me back with their sharp, oozing teeth, but... even with that they couldn't seem to be able to reach me with those deadly weapons.

I then managed to stand up, and looked around me. There, I saw a more efficient weapon - a small laser gun on the same desk where I found the hammer. I picked it up, and immediately pressed the trigger, causing a red light to fly out from it.

It struck the Metal Head in the eye, leaving it to squeal with pain. I then went around the back of it, and kicked it to the ground, knocking it senseless. I then cackled with delight, before looking back at Praxis and Vin, whom showed widened expressions within their own two eyes.

"Don't just stand there, both of you!" I shouted towards them. "Just make your way out of here!"

"You can do with a hand, Erol!" Vin retaliated.

"I'm fine! I can handle these creatures on my own!"

With anger upon me, I crawled up the structures leading towards the glass window, and brought myself out from it. I looked around me, and instantly saw that the street was swarming with Metal Heads around me.

I then brought out the gun and tried to shoot as many as I can, but with every one taken down, there seemed to be another two coming. I took a step back, looking almost defeated. Once near the window I started at, I looked down and saw my comrades looking up at me.

"So much for that idea" frowned Vin from his position.

From down there, the Baron pointed straight up towards me. "There's only one thing for it!"

And all of a sudden they both hovered their way towards the window panel. There, I stepped out of the way, while trying to hold back some of those monsters as I managed to do so. By then, some of the smaller ones managed to reach me and started biting my ankles with their piercing fangs.

I then panicked by rolling into the massacre of monsters ahead of me, almost getting swarmed by them head to toe. I would have thought that they would have almost caught me for sure, but... that was before something started to show from the broken glass panel.

"What the-!" I shouted with a faint whisper.

I looked ahead of me and saw a strong silver light emerging from there. It shot up into the sky, and it wasn't long until it managed to come back down towards the ground with a strong clash upon the ground.

The smoke soon faded out, showing the figure within the light as Vin. He rubbed his back with pain, and looked around him - even though the force managed to knock out about ten of the Metal Heads, the others didn't seem to stop retaliating.

"Hey, I'm not meant to be YOUR fodder!" Vin squealed with fear. "Get those slimy claws away from me!!!"

But then, they surrounded him, ready to tackle him. They tried to swipe him, leaving some of his spiritual essences to pick up like dust. That just left him to hover away from their direction, trying to keep out of their sight.

"I advise you to try and be careful", he cried towards me. "They're coming from all directions, ready to surround us!"

"That'll be my cue!" I cackled back.

With a smirk, I took a further step back, shooting at some of the smaller creatures as I managed to do so. Over time, I eventually smirked, and brought my hands out, ready to lay a lethal attack upon the critters ahead of me.

"TAKE THIS!!!"

And so I ended up punching one of the creatures to the ground, before performing a sliding kick upon the ground, knocking some of the creatures off their feet. I then used my gun to try and bring down some of the others; it was by then that I knew that their numbers were dying out.

There seemed to be about twenty or so left, each of which just as vulnerable as the last. I would have attacked them easily, had it not been for some of which suddenly attacking me from the back, knocking me straight to the ground.

"I still need a hand from this!" I struggled.

"Erol, look out!"

I looked onwards, seeing a strong surge of blue light hovering around the skies. It soon hurled down in front of me, knocking a good six or seven of the metal heads far away from us, rolling upon the ground like soccer balls.

Eventually, some of the Metal Heads from my body came off me and started charging towards the blue light, trying to slaughter the entity within it. It then floated up, eventually showing the Baron in full posture.

"Gotcha!"

He brought out his sword, which started to glow a strong green color. And in a brief swipe, he managed to come straight towards the ground, striking some of those monsters off their feet, and out of their senses.

While that happened, Vin managed to come down towards the ground, trying to kick some of the smaller creatures away from the scene and down through the window panel that we came from. Eventually, both spirits came together, and started to retreat.

"You just run!" the Baron commanded to me. "We'll be looking over your every move!"

"How?" I asked back with panic. "I'm a new figure altogether! I can't survive like this!"

"Erol, you can find your way around this city just like you could several years beforehand", said Vin confidently. "If anything wrong should happen, we'll come to you!"

And all of a sudden, their bodies started to glow and fade. Their essences soon managed to head straight up within the skies, leaving my expression to be more hopeless over time. I looked around me, and saw the other Metal Heads trying to surround me, their teeth showing through their vicious growls.

I then tried to run towards the spot where the spirits once were, and tried to focus my attention towards the skies, where I saw their spiritual essences starting to fade into nothing. I then started to feel panic upon my face.

"Don't leave me like this!" I shouted towards the essences. "Please, don't!"

I brought my hand up to try to reach them, but by that time, more Metal Heads started to pummel on top of me, trying to scratch me into nothing. It was then that I felt that I needed to die at that moment in time.

I hated that new body, I hated how I looked, and I even hated how inflexible it was in comparison to my past form. I just wanted everything to end as it was now - whichever bastards that tried to rebuild me also needed to come down with me.

But right there... a few gunshots started to zoom past me. I looked ahead, and saw some familiar figures come towards me - their red armor and tattoos upon their ears left me to recognize them as some figures from the original Krimzon Guard.

"My old colleagues...!" I whispered to myself.

They all started to fight the monsters together, taking them down one by one. I was amazed with how they managed to fight against them - their aim seemed to have really improved since the last time I managed to see them.

By the time all the creatures were taken down, they managed to give me enough freedom to stand up onto both feet again, leaving me to look on the surroundings around me. I just felt surprised by how this experience managed to come to be.

And it was there that I managed to realise the true purpose over why the people wanted to resurrect me for the being that I was. I then hung my head low, bound to accept the fact... that the remaining Guards needed me.

* * *

Time passed, and eventually I was accepted within the rebel Krimzon Guard movement. It was there that I managed to learn a lot of things since I was last here, although most of the gossip was more on the negative side if anything.

They said that even though Metal Kor had been defeated, there are still a strong movement of the strongest Metal Heads still roaming around this part of the world. Why they keep advancing around here, and what they are still fighting for, we still don't have a clue.

And because of that eco freak Jak having a stronger connection with some Krew guy when it came to opening the barrier between the city and the wastelands through the Underport, it seemed as though all fingers are pointing at him to blame.

I felt astonished by what they managed to say through there. It's also here that even though I managed to help him in the past, I still felt that that moment had to be released grip of, therefore looking into the ever so distant future.

Because of what that Eco freak did to the city when fighting against the original movement of Krimzon Guards, I felt the sudden urge of revenge creeping upon my body. And yet, I felt more electrified than before, for reasons that I still needed to find out.

Even there, I still hated this horrible new body that I have been cursed with, and it's through there that I needed a chance to get rid of it. But with this newfound task of uprising the Krimzon Guard once again in my very mind, I knew it was my sworn duty to try and keep this horrible body.

Did you hear me Jak?

Your days are numbered, and the incoming wrath of Erol will instantly tear your spirit to shreds!!!

* * *

_"Account of the Afterlife" is © Rexy 2004. The Jak II universe is © Naughty Dog 2003-2004. All rights reserved._


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